The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-07-10

for obtaining IN abundant supply Of stone for
riprappng or paving the approaches 30 as to
protect them from the action OF the water"
But are there not moral as well a. Topography
ical distractions to railway building In the
shape Of che innumerable grave mounds which
encompass almost every city. town. and village,
and which, being invested with peculiar sanc-
tity In the eyes OF the natives. could not be lev
elled or removed7 In his eighth chapter Gen.
Wilson examines this objection. II am free
to confess" he says. that II the graves cannot
be moved, the difficulty will at least compel
the location Of the railroads at considerable
distances from the present towns and cities.
1t would be impossible 10 enter tho
most Of those in tho Great Plain with
out running over or encroaching upon
many graves. In the hill country It 10 differ
emit" But, he continues, so far as can learn.
there Is no reason for supposing that the
graves cannot be moved. when necessary, II the
proper measures are taken to conciliate the
people and to compensate thom for the dam
ago inflicted upon them. There Is reason for
believing that, while reverence for the dead Ia
a part OF the Chinamsn's daily life, It is not
cult OF such great vitality nor Of such fixed and
unbending rules as to prohibit the application
OF common sense to such cases as may arise
affecting It."
Admitting that railways could be built In
China, would they payf Not at FIRST for at
present China Is poorer than any other coun-
try in the world possessing equal or higher
claims to civilization. She is poor In the sense
of lacking accumulated capital or largo an
nual surplus Of products over consumption.
Nowhere In tho civilized world is there so
small proportion OF rich or even well-to-do
persons; nowhere does the great mass OF the
people como 80 near to living from hand to
mouth. Yet. contrary to the prevailing I'M
precision In the western hemisphere, China is
not overcrowded. In Gen. Wilson's opinion
she II capable Of supporting three times as
many Inhabitants, for her natural resources
arc illimitablo. Large tracts Of her arabic soil
are OF inexhaustible fertility. The extent OF
the workable coal beds in China is, according
to Richthofen. competent authority. greater
than in any other country OF tho
world though the consumption OF coal
is but In its infancy, owing to the primitive
methods Of mining and tho difficulty and cost
Of transportation. This, although coal is Pc
culiarly needed as combustible. China being
almost literally treeless land. Again. iron
ores are almost as widely distributed as COAL
and there are known to be extensive deposits
Of copper. Even the latter are not worked In
any systematic manner. and copper has to be
imported for the Chinese currency. In presence
of these data, agricultural and mineral. Gen.
Wilson reaches the conclusion that the stimu-
lus impaired by railways to production would
be Immediately and powerfully felt In China,
and that the profits OF investors. though they
might be deferred. would be certain In the end
The general impression left on the authors
mind BY the sum of his observations is that
tho ordinary conception OF China as decrepit
country is entirely unfounded. Rather Is the
al
ical phenomenon he regards her as speci-
men. not Of senility. but Of arrested develop.
ment. Her hour Of bloom and OF maturity Is
vet To come NJ ", H.